Volume of powder to brass

[flopearedmule]

Hey guys

Did some reading of what powder others are using for their 280AI
I'm seeing 4831SD, IMR7828, H1000, H4350, ect…….

I think most are saying try H4831 is a good one to start with.
One of the guys on here says Rl23 works best for him, but there is no load data anywhere, I emailed the company and they haven't tested with 280AI yet. I don't know enough to play with a load of Rl23

I loaded up one round every .5 grains from 54 to 57 of H4831. I will be going out to test for pressure.
The question is....
even at 57 grains, I have a lot of space between the 162 ELDx to the powder.
How much space is realistic? Just seems like a lot to me??

I broke the barrel in with Retumbo 59 to 63 grains, around 60 shots (Berger 168 VLD)
The Retumbo almost filled full to the bottom of the bullet. No load data for the 162 grain with Retumbo.

Thanks

edit: Fogot to mention I'm testing at .015 off the lands. I bought my reamer from PT&G with their recommendation to the bullet I will shoot to the free bore on the reamer.

 

[Fast14riot]

FWIW, I used H4831 starting data for RL23 in my 260AI and it was safe. I ended up at a charge 0.2gr below my H4831 load. I find the burn rate very closely resembles H4831.

 

[Rsadams]

A full to shoulder case would be nice but stick with what your target tells you... Normally a screaming hot round isn't an accurate one so unless you need the extra velocity there's no point... In my .223/5.56 loads the powder is right below the shoulder and is just barely over a 5.56 starting charge... It shoots well and I don't need the extra wear on the rifle that a full power charge would be... I like to cronograph a few factory rounds to get a benchmark out of my rifle.... Everything makes a difference from book load data such as barrel length , location , temps during testing etc... Main thing is safety first....I once loaded up some rounds at the middle of the charge data and out of that rifle it was already as fast as a factory round , so if I hadn't cronograph some factory I would have gotten very hot very fast...

 

[Dud]

284 Winchester is pretty close in case volume, powders that work in it should probably work in 280.

If you can find several book loads with the same powder and bullet, you can see the trends in how the charge weights differ. If you do some math, you should be able to project a good starting load for .280 if you only have load data for 284. Maximum is a different story.

 

[Kurz]

If you choose to accept the relationship between H-4831 and Re-23, here is the Nosler test data:





When I was developing loads for a client, I settle on 60 gr. of Re-23, moderate pressure and decent velocity. I was using the 162 gr. AMAX at the time which is an insignificant difference from the ELD-X. Start lower and work up slowly watching for signs of pressure. Be aware that the AI versions of rifle cartridges do not show pressure signs in the same manner as a standard cartridge.

From another source:

Read the whole thread.

I was shooting 60 grains of RL26 with 162 eldx in 280 AI last week. Was getting 3030 fps out of 25" barrel. The groups were inconsistent. Ended up going with 160 gr. accubond, same charge was shooting under half minute at 2990 fps.

https://www.longrangehunting.com/threads/280-ai-with-hornady-162eld-x-load-data.175587/

Enjoy the process!

 

[Rdlningcltchdmpr]

Hey guys

Did some reading of what powder others are using for their 280AI
I'm seeing 4831SD, IMR7828, H1000, H4350, ect…….

I think most are saying try H4831 is a good one to start with.
One of the guys on here says Rl23 works best for him, but there is no load data anywhere, I emailed the company and they haven't tested with 280AI yet. I don't know enough to play with a load of Rl23

I loaded up one round every .5 grains from 54 to 57 of H4831. I will be going out to test for pressure.
The question is....
even at 57 grains, I have a lot of space between the 162 ELDx to the powder.
How much space is realistic? Just seems like a lot to me??

I broke the barrel in with Retumbo 59 to 63 grains, around 60 shots (Berger 168 VLD)
The Retumbo almost filled full to the bottom of the bullet. No load data for the 162 grain with Retumbo.

Thanks

edit: Fogot to mention I'm testing at .015 off the lands. I bought my reamer from PT&G with their recommendation to the bullet I will shoot to the free bore on the reamer.

I would recommend dropping the .5 grain load development. Just go with one grain increments as it is more sensible in that it shows the information you want without wasting supplies and barrel life/ heat. If you look at nozler load data they actually jump by two grains in many cartridges/ bullet combination's.

 

[Rdlningcltchdmpr]

Hey guys

Did some reading of what powder others are using for their 280AI
I'm seeing 4831SD, IMR7828, H1000, H4350, ect…….

I think most are saying try H4831 is a good one to start with.
One of the guys on here says Rl23 works best for him, but there is no load data anywhere, I emailed the company and they haven't tested with 280AI yet. I don't know enough to play with a load of Rl23

I loaded up one round every .5 grains from 54 to 57 of H4831. I will be going out to test for pressure.
The question is....
even at 57 grains, I have a lot of space between the 162 ELDx to the powder.
How much space is realistic? Just seems like a lot to me??

I broke the barrel in with Retumbo 59 to 63 grains, around 60 shots (Berger 168 VLD)
The Retumbo almost filled full to the bottom of the bullet. No load data for the 162 grain with Retumbo.

Thanks

edit: Fogot to mention I'm testing at .015 off the lands. I bought my reamer from PT&G with their recommendation to the bullet I will shoot to the free bore on the reamer.

R23 is very very very close to both R22 and R19 , closer to 19. Nozler has load data for the 160-168 bullet's - showing 53-54 Max for the 280 cartridge. The A.I. cartridge can start at or close to those max #'s due to its larger capacity. Most AI cartridges have a starting load at the max load of the parent case. Also as a side advice, when i load develope i only load three of each going up in one grain increments. Example- 3×53, 3×54, 3×55 ,3×56. That's only twelve and that will give a very good idea of how it's working or not. I.e. velocity/accuracy. Also when i fire two shots and they land 1" apart , i won't even fire the third because i can see that amount of powder is not producing accuracy. The leftover unfired cartridges are disassembled when i get home. It really saves barrel life and components. The ones that perform well i then retest and refine.

 

[flopearedmule]

Kurz
Thanks for the Nosler load data. Where do you find that? Also, thanks for the link to the reading on LRH forum.
When I go to the Hodgen website, it shows 56.4 grains in max load. This one shows 59 is max load.
Maybe its the difference between H4831SC or just H4831

I went out and tested yesterday at 300 yds
Is it possible to have my lowest load, 54.5 grains shoot higher than 55, 56, and 56.5? Then 57 grains went 2" higher than 55, 56, and 56.5
The 56, and 56.5 were touching. I think I will load the same and go try again.

I need a chronograph. I got the wife talked into letting me get the Labradar for Christmas...…early present. hahaha[/QUOTE]

 

[Rdlningcltchdmpr]

Many many times you will see large difference's in max , between different load data sources. The biggest difference I've seen is the 308 win. data. One source claimed 50 as max , another claimed 55 as max. That's a very big swing in max load data. This just goes to show that you need to cross reference when loading.

 

[Kurz]

Thanks for the Nosler load data. Where do you find that?

Here is the link to the Nosler Load-Data:

https://load-data.nosler.com/

Select the cartridge or caliber and when the data shows up locate the bullet weight range at the top of the data sheet.

When I go to the Hodgden website, it shows 56.4 grains in max load. This one shows 59 is max load

Powder suppliers and manufacturers have substantial liability exposure so they tread very carefully when they publish data for the general public. The folks here are all intelligent enough to understand data and work carefully with new load development but there are some out in the rest of the world that need watching over so they don't do stupid things. That's the idea behind publishing lower pressure results, public safety. Many suppliers have now turned to QuickLoad and other programs to do load development which saves them all the costs of reloading and testing loads for their powders, bullets and cases. They might test some but it is significantly reduced from previous years.

I went out and tested yesterday at 300 yds

There are too many variables to take into account with the minimum information you've supplied. I simple example would be if you're using a bipod and it's not front loaded so it 'hops' a little on firing. I would suggest as you said, run the tests again and keep careful track of everything.